A Song of Snakes and Wolves
by bellarose-riddle
Summary: Oberyn had never expected to fall in love, just like he had never expected to get married, but a certain she-wolf may, or may not, make him change his mind.
1. Chapter 1

She had never been so excited about anything before.

Brandon had told her that all the great lords of The Seven Kingdoms would be at the tourney of Harenhall, and he had also laughed and said that he would defeat them all and crown her Queen of Love and Beauty.

But she couldn't care less about that.

Ned and Benjen where at the stables while Brandon talked to their father and Lyanna let herself fall on the bed and closed her eyes.

They were supposed to meet Catelyn and Lysa Tully, and their father, Lord Hoster, at the tourney and her father had asked her to be nice to the girl who would soon be her sister in law.

Lyanna, who had come to love Brandon more than any other of her brothers, didn't want to let him go.

She had never met Catelyn Tully but she was sure she would not like her.

"Lya" called Benjen "we are ready to go."

She stood up and gave a look to her room one last time.

She had never gone down The Neck, and had never spent more than two days away from Winterfell.

She smiled weakly, and a part of her desired to stay there, at home, with her father, but she turned around and followed Benjen.

Everything was ready outside.

"Hi, boy" Lyanna told her horse, Winter "We are going to have our little adventure now, aren't we?"

Lord Rickard Stark came out to say goodbye to his children, and Lyanna thought he looked tired.

"Remember what I told you" their father told Brandon "if anything happens..."

"I know" her big brother interrupted.

Rickard smiled.

"Be safe, my children" he said and then looked at Lyanna "Do you remember our words?"

"Winter is coming" she answered firmly and, suddenly, she was not scared for leaving home anymore.

She was Lyanna Stark of Winterfell, a daughter of The North, a direwolf, and she would not be afraid.

She placed her horse next to Ned's right after they crossed the gate and her brother smiled at her.

"Excited?"

"Of course!" she replied "We are going to a tourney, Ned! Maybe I would be able to participate"

Ned laughed and shook his head.

" Brandon would probably encourage you to do it"

"But in the end he'd never let me" Lyanna said, sadly "He loves me too much to risk my safety"

Ned gave her a serious look.

"Do I not love you, sister?"

"Not as much as I do!" Benjen screamed from behind.

Both Lyanna and Ned turned to look at him but Benjen just laughed. Not long after that the three of them were laughing nonstop.

* * *

When Elia entered her brother's chambers, he was half naked, drinking dornish wine and leaning against the balcony.

"Morning, sister" he smirked and let himself fall on a chair.

Elia sighed and sat in front of him.

"So, have you think about it?"

Oberyn looked at her as though he didn't know what she was speaking about.

"Think about what, your grace?"

Elia crossed her legs and placed her hands on her lap and Oberyn knew she was going to sweet talk him.

"This tourney could be a great chance for you" she took the glass of wine from his hands to make him pay more attention to her "Dorne needs a new princess and you need a wife"

Oberyn frowned.

"You sound like Doran" he complained "Am I the only one on this family that doesn't speak nonsense?"

"You are the only one in this family speaking nonsense" Elia replied, visibly upset "But fine, if this is what you want I guess Doran will have to choose your bride himself" she smirked "Maybe one of ladies in waiting"

Oberyn's viper eyes turned darker than usual.

"If you dare to say Cersei Lannister I will forget that you are my sister and will never talk to you again"

Elia laughed.

"She is pretty!" she said, even if she could perfectly understand why her brother didn't like the Lannister girl.

"She is vain. There is no more selfish person in this world than that girl" he thought about it twice "well, maybe her brother"

"So you would not marry her?"

Oberyn took his wine glass back.

"I would rather marry Willas Tyrell"

Elia shook her head but couldn't stop smiling at her brother's joke.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time they arrived at Harrenhal, most of the houses of the Seven Kingdoms were already there.

Lyanna saw a hundred different coat of arms but she only recognized half of them.

Her smile faded when she saw him.

Robert was waiting for them and placed himself next to her horse to help her.

Lyanna didn't need his help but she couldn't sent him away.

"My lady" he smiled, looking at her with hungry eyes.

Before Lyanna could answer Ned came to embrace his friend and she managed to escape.

She took Winter to the stables.

Harrenhal was huge but Lyanna already knew that.

She had read about it a long time ago.

Harrenhal had been built on a gigantic scale, and Harren the Black had boasted that his fortress was impregnable. However, he had not account with Aegon the Conqueror and his dragons invading Westeros.

And Aegon had burned Harren and all his descendants alive inside those walls.

There were a couple of stable boys helping the lords to place their horses on the right place and one of them took Lyanna to where the horses of House Stark should be.

"You will be safe here" she told Winter just after the boy left "and I'll come to see you as soon as possible"

She left her horse there and, when she was leaving, she heard a boy screaming and she turned around.

One of the horses, a powerful black stallion, was giving the boys a hard time.

One of them fell to the floor and Lyanna, scared that he could get hurt, walk to them and grabbed the horse by the stirrup.

"Be careful, my lady" one of the stable boys told her, while the he helped the one on the floor getting up.

But she needn't worry. She had always had a connection with horses, and Barbrey Ryswell had once said she was half a horse herself.

The stallion seemed to calm down.

It was then when she heard the laugh.

A man was standing next to the door, looking at her.

"Well done, my lady" he said.

He was dressed in an orange tunic embroidered with small golden suns.

Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper, a Prince of Dorne.

Lyanna only knew him for his reputation.

She had once heard Brandon saying that if half the things people said about Oberyn were right they could be great friends.

Lyanna left the horse and made her way to the door.

Oberyn smiled at her and Lyanna thought that his eyes were like a snake's.

"May I have your name?" he asked.

She hesitated.

"Lyanna Stark of Winterfell" she said and left.

Oberyn smirked.

Elia saw the girl leaving and frowned.

"Who was that?" she asked.

Her brother, who was taking care of Fire, the black stallion that no one but him could tame, turned to look at her.

"A she-wolf" he smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

Ned felt pity for Robert.

His friend was so convinced that he was going to marry Lyanna that he had even started thinking names for their children.

"Imagine them" Robert had told him "They will be warriors"

Ned had just nodded, not knowing what to say.

He knew the truth after all.

Her father wanted a good match for Lyanna, someone of a great house who would protect her and love her, and even if Ned himself had told him that Robert would do all that, his father had his doubts.

So, as his father could not leave Winterfell, he had given Brandon the task of finding Lyanna the best husband in all Seven Kingdoms and negotiate the dowry.

And, even if Ned wished that one day Robert and him could be truly family, he knew that his older brother was not fond of the Lord of Storm's End.

But well, in the end, it didn't matter what they wanted, because Ned knew that Lyanna would be the one to choose her husband.

He went to the back field of the castle where the lords were training with their horses.

Benjen was speaking to Ser Arthur Dayne, The Sword of the Morning, and seemed fascinated.

Lyanna was sitting not far from them, with Catelyn and Lysa Tully.

They had met the girls soon after they arrive and, even if Ned found the nice and sweet, Lyanna didn't seem very pleased with them.

"They are not nice, Ned" she had told him "They are boring and naive. And they are not even funny"

But Ned could read in her eyes what her words didn't say.

She was scared of losing her brother's love because of Catelyn and that was the real reason of her repulsion against the Tully girls.

Brandon entered the field in that very same moment and Ned almost jumped of surprise when he saw his companion.

What was his brother doing with The Red Viper of Dorne?

They looked like they were enjoying themselves, laughing and chatting.

And it was then, when he turned back to Lyanna, that he discovered her looking at the very same direction he was looking at.

She excused herself and left Catelyn and Lysa alone. Ned thought that he must entertain the ladies for a while, since his sister was not going to do it, and sat next to them.

Catelyn welcomed him with a warm smile.

* * *

Lyanna crossed the field and smiled to her brother.

Brandon, who was talking to Oberyn Martell, saw her and welcomed her with an embrace.

"Enjoying yourself, brother?" she asked.

"Indeed, sister" Brandon smiled.

Oberyn took her hand and kissed it gently.

"My lady" he smirked and Lyanna felt his viper eyes digging into her soul "If you excuse me" he said then looking back at Brandon "My lady sister is waiting for me and I wouldn't like to make her wait"

"Sure. See you around" Brandon answered.

Lyanna found herself watching the Prince Oberyn as he walked away.

She shook her head.

"Trying to make an alliance with Dorne, brother dear?" she grabbed Brandon's arm and they both walked around the field, avoiding the horsemen who rode near them.

"I don't think I understand what your words imply, Lya"

"Come on, Bran!" she knew that her brother didn't like it when others called him as they did when he was a child, and she was the only one who was allowed to call him like that "I may be young but I'm not stupid"

"I never say you were" he tried to cut her off.

"You" she continue "are going to marry The Riverlands, and Ned could marry Casterly Rock, then I'd be sent to The Stormlands and Benjen would marry or Dorne or The Reach. Father wants a legacy that will last thousands of years after our deaths"

Brandon smirked.

"Sometimes I think I don't give you your due, little sister"

Lyanna smiled, proud of herself, knowing that she was right.

"I know that you hate Cat because I'm going to marry her" he said then and Lyanna frowned "But, Lya, you must know that, whomever Ned, Benjen or I marry, we will never stop loving you. We are a pack, remember?"

She nodded, and smiled.

"The pack survives" she told him.

Brandon kissed her on the forehead and they both walked to the place where their siblings where.

Ser Arthur had just left and Benjen was telling Catelyn something about Staks turning into wolves at night.

Lysa looked frightened.

Lyanna laughed and sat next to Ned, who embraced her and kissed her cheek.

When Brandon was telling the girls about a day when Ned and him got lost on The Wolfswood, a great fuss happened behind them, but none of them noticed until Lysa spoke, half shocked, half scared.

"Isn't that the Crown Prince's brother in law?"

"Aye" Brandon answered.

Prince Oberyn was standing shirtless, spear in hand, friendly fighting against his uncle, Ser Lewyn.

"He seems as deadly and impulsive as they say" Lysa whispered biting her lip.

Catelyn gave her a reproachful look.

Lyanna watched the play of muscles in his chest and was surprised by how fast he moved. He is strong, she thought.

Their eyes met and he smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

Benjen, who was on his chamber, let himself fall on the chair.

Brandon had won the fighting with swords but only, Benjen was sure of that, because Ser Arthur Dayne had not participated.

The Lady Ashara Dayne had congratulated him personally and Benjen had seen wanting, not on Brandon eyes, but on Ned's.

He had started laughing nonstop.

Lyanna, who had been in the stands and had cheered Brandon more than anyone, had disappeared just after the fight had ended.

* * *

After changing her dress for her riding clothes and a grey cloak, she had gone to the godswood for a while because, even if she didn't recognize it, she missed Winterfell, and now she was wondering around Harrenhal.

She was impressed by the tall towers and the melted walls.

She had always loved the War of Conquest and being there, in the place where Aegon burned Harren the Black, she felt like she was part of that story too.

It was then when she saw her.

A little six or seven year old girl was running after a cat.

She was slim and slender as a willow, and she was wearing dirty boy clothes. Her hair, dark as a wolf's mouth, was tangled on a braid down her shoulder.

The cat entered a small hole on the wall and left.

The girl cursed quietly and then she turned to Lyanna, surprised.

"My lady" she said, making a little reverence.

"Hi" Lyanna smiled "what's your name?"

The girl's deep dark eyes looked straight into Lyanna's grey eyes.

"Nym" she answered "and, who are you?"

It was fun to see how the little girl spoke to her as if she was her equal, without paying attention to her title.

She liked that.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nym. I'm Lyanna."

"Pleasure to meet you too, Lyanna" her eyes went to the place where the cat had disappeared.

Lyanna noticed it.

"Why were you chasing that cat?" she asked, really curious.

She remembered doing something like that at Winterfell, running after every animal she would find.

"I was trying to be quick as a snake"

"Well, then you should chase snakes, don't you think?"

Nym seemed to consider what she had said, and cocked her head.

"I guess so" she whispered.

Lyanna smiled again.

"I must go" she said and gave her an affectionate little touch with the fingertips on the tip of the nose.

"See you around" Nym smiled back at her and left, running down the corridor.

* * *

Elia was lying on the bed, without any strength to get up.

Oberyn entered her chamber and smiled sadly at her.

"Your grace" he said and sat in the edge of the bed.

His sister took his hand between hers.

"I'm fine" she assured "just a little tired. But I'll be better soon"

"I know" Oberyn replied, even if he was not sure of that.

He had always feared that his sister's illness would take her out of his side. Since they were children they had always been together and Oberyn did not know what he'd do if anything happened to her.

"So" she said, changing topic "where is my lovely niece?"

"Somewhere in the castle, making fun of the ladies and terrifying the children" he smiled, proudly.

"She is just like you" Elia smiled back.

There was a moment of silence where none of them said anything and then Oberyn bent to kiss her on the forehead.

"Rest" he told her "I'll see you at the feast"

* * *

Benjen was scared of the King, but he'd never admit it.

Although he was only thirty eight years old, he looked much older. His fingernails were nearly a foot long, and his hair and beard hung far past his shoulders in wild tangles.

He ate little and left soon.

Benjen heard Robert telling his little brother Renly that the King was angry with Tywin Lannister and that was the reason why The Hand did not come to the tourney and why Aerys had told Jaime Lannister to leave to King's Landing just after he knighted him.

Ned was dancing with the Lady Ashara Dayne, but just because Brandon had asked her to because Ned was too shy to ask himself.

Lyanna was sat next to him, with a glass of wine between her fingers. He could tell she was bored.

She had changed her riding clothes for a soft blue dress and was wearing jewels. Her dark hair was loose.

Benjen knew she was pretty but he preferred her sister like she was on Winterfell.

A girl that would not care for her clothes or her hair. A girl that would wear muddy clothes. A girl that would climb trees and towers with him.

He was sad that she was leaving to marry some lord from the south but he had only tell that to Ned, for he knew his brother felt the same way.

Lyanna turned to him.

"What's wrong, Ben?" she asked.

"Nothing" he shook his head "I'm just bored"

Lyanna looked back to the lords and ladies dancing in front of them.

Ned looked happy dancing with Ashara and Catelyn was laughing at something that Brandon said.

Lysa Tully was dancing with Oberyn Martell and it seemed like she was scared of looking at him for she never looked him in the eye.

When Lyanna turned to the main table, where Prince Rhaegar and Princess Elia were sitting, she saw Nym, the girl who was chasing a cat that morning.

Nym was wearing a very beautiful orange dress and her hair was on a braid, decorated with little golden suns.

She was sitting on the princess' lap, laughing.

Lyanna felt like she was stupid.

Nym. Nymeria.

How did she not see it from the very first moment?

She rose and felt Benjen staring at her.

She walked slowly to their table, made a little reverence before the Crown Prince, and sat near the princess.

* * *

Elia had been looking at Lyanna, while Nym told her about how sweet and gentle the Lady Stark was.

Her niece told her about her meeting with Lyanna that morning, saying that she was not like the other ladies, that she liked her.

It was then when Lyanna walked near them.

"Lady Lyanna" Elia said.

"Your Grace" The Stark girl sat next to them "Hello, Nym"

"Hi" Nymeria smiled "you are pretty" she told her.

Lyanna returned the smile.

"Not as much as you" she touched one of the little suns that decorated Nymeria's hair "They are cute"

Before the girl could answer Oberyn called her.

Elia turned to her brother and was almost sure that he was looking to Lyanna.

Nymeria run to her father and he took her in his arms and danced with her, laughing.

"She is your niece, isn't she?" Lyanna asked, her eyes fixed on the dancing pairs.

"Yes" Elia answered, curious about Lyanna's intentions "one of them"

"I've heard they are three"

She has heard? Elia thought. Of course she had. Everyone knew about Oberyn's daughters and that was one of the many difficulties Doran had to find him a bride.

"You've heard right. Obara is ten, Nymeria is almost seven and Tyene, whose hair is like the sun, is a sweet four year old girl"

Lyanna hesitated before speaking again.

"I once heard that the little one, Tyene, was daughter of a Septa" and she added quickly "but of course that must be just a gossip"

Elia squinted, a gesture he shared with his brother, and watched her curiously, laughing slightly.

"It is no gossip, my lady. Tyene is indeed the daughter of a Septa"

Lyanna's eyes were wide open and she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times.

"He bedded a Septa…that's…he must be...I mean…wow!"

Lyanna flushed, probably altered by her own thoughts, and Elia smiled.

"Do you like my brother, my lady?"

"I barely know him, your grace" cleared his throat "I should go back to my table. My little brother seems bored"

She made a little reverence and walked away.

The Dornish princess rose from her sit and, taking advantage of the change of the song, she walked towards Brandon Stark.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, your grace?" he asked when they started dancing.

"I heard you are looking for a husband for your sister. I may have a suggestion"


	5. Chapter 5

"Have you lost your mind?"

Oberyn rose from the chair and turned to his sister, who was standing on the balcony, behind him.

The air was warm and the sun was shining.

Elia was wearing a golden dress and a golden sun decorated her right arm. Her dark hair was tangled back and her deep eyes were as bright as Nymeria's star.

There was no sight of her illness and Oberyn was happy for it.

The bad thing was that, when Elia had nothing to do, she tended to think, and plan, and plot, and Oberyn knew better than anyone how smart his older sister was.

He would have never expected this, anyways.

He could hear the swords crashing, even from there, and he looked down to the field as he placed himself next to Elia.

"I thought you liked her" his sister answered without looking at him.

"I think she is a smart and wilful girl, she seems determinate and fierce, and I like that, Elia, but she is a child! I do not bed children!"

Elia turned to him.

"Do not try to lie to me, Oberyn. And do not try to lie to yourself. The girl is fourteen; she is beautiful, fierce, strong and funny. You may not bed children but she certainly does not look like a child" she laughed at him and her eyes, the same viper eyes that he had, seemed to turn even darker "I saw you the other day, smiling when she left the stables, and I saw you half naked trying to gain her attention while fighting against uncle Lewyn. And do not dare to say you were not looking at her yesterday night because we both know that you were!"

Elia's speech left him speechless.

Yes, he had smiled when he had seen how the northern girl had tamed his untameable horse. Yes, he had been practicing half naked with uncle Lewyn near her but he was not trying to gain her attention, was he?

No, he definitely was not.

She was just a kid after all.

"That is not even the point, sister! You talked to Brandon Stark. You tried to arrange a marriage for me without even consulting me! I do not want to marry!"

"Well, then you must tell that to Doran" she smiled, knowing that she was going to win this argument "He seems quite happy with the perspective of an alliance with The North, and the both of us find the perspective of you, little brother, walking to the altar quite funny"

Oberyn turned to her.

He didn't even know how he felt at that moment.

He socked his head and gave her a serious glare.

"I will not marry" he said and turned around.

* * *

Brandon and Ned were sitting on one of their chambers but none of them seemed to be concentrated on the things they were doing.

Ned was upset if not angry with Brandon, and he knew Lyanna would kill their eldest brother when she found out what he was trying to arrange.

"And you said it was the princess who proposed it" Ned said.

"Indeed, she did" Brandon, who was resting on the bed, looked at him and sat up "I was surprised at first, but anyone is better than Robert"

"I'm sorry brother, but I don't see how The Red Viper of Dorne is better than my best friend"

Brandon sighed and did not answer.

"You know, I know I won't win this argument, but I don't care. Lyanna will kill you and feed the wolves with your remains"

* * *

Howland was walking across the field, enjoying the warm spring day and harming none, when he was set upon by three squires.

They were none older than fifteen, yet even so they were bigger than him , all three. This was their world, as the saw it, and he had no right to be there. They snarched away his spear and knicked him to the ground, cursing him for a frogeater."

He didn't know who they were or why they were disturbing him.

None offered a name, but he marked their faces well so he could revenge himself upon them later. They shoved him down every time he tried to rise, and kicked him when he curled up on the ground.

It was then when Howland heard a roar.

"That's my father's man you're kicking"

A young woman approached them.

She was wearing a grey dress and holding a tourney sword.

The squires laughed at her.

It was then when the crannogman saw the sigil of House Stark that she wore on her necklace.

The she-wolf laid into the squires with a tourney sword, scattering them all.

She knelt next to him.

"Don't you worry" she told him "You are safe now"

"Lyanna!" a young boy called the she-wolf.

Howland tried to speak.

He wanted to thank her. He wanted to tell her that he would always owe her a debt.

"Benjen" Lyanna answered "Help me"

While Lyanna helped Howland getting up her brother passed his arm around his shoulder to hold him still.

"Who is he?"

"I don't know his name" she answered "but he wears the sigil of House Reed"

"You risked your safety to help a man you didn't know?"

"Those squires were hitting him and had no right to do it. Plus, he is our father's man, a northerner, one of us, and we must help him"

Howland found his voice then.

"Thank you" he coughed "my lady"

Lyanna looked back at him.

"Don't waste your energy" she answered "You have nothing to thank me"

By the time they arrived to their chambers both Benjen and Lyanna were exhausted.

Brandon and Ned were already there.

"What the bloody hell…" Brandon started.

"He is a Reed" Lyanna explained "Some squires were mistreating him and I saved him"

"You saved him?" Brandon asked.

Lyanna and Benjen sat the crannongman on a couch and Benjen went to take some bandages and wet wipes to cure him.

"I used a tourney sword to beat the squires"

Her brother laughed loudly.

Howland drank the water glass the quite wolf gave him and turned to the she-wolf.

"Thank you, again, my lady Lyanna"

"As I said" she took one of the wet wipes to wipe of the blood from his face "there is nothing to thank"

"So" Brandon insisted "my little baby sister is know a soldier who beats squires"

From that moment on, Howland decided to call the older brother _wild wolf_.

"You have to get ready for supper, Lya" Ned said "I'll take care of him"

Lyanna smiled at Howland.

"Ned is shy sometimes but you are in good hands, I promise" then she turned to her brother "Find him some clean clothes and make sure he comes to the feast"

Ned nodded.

* * *

Howland joined them that night at the feast and he was almost recovered and happy.

He found out that the wild wolf was the one who took all the important decisions around there, that the quiet wolf didn't say much but heard everything, that the she-wolf was a true lady even if she didn't want to recognize it, and that the pup didn't care about anything but enjoying the moment.

Under Harren's roof he ate and drank with the wolves, and many of their sworn swords besides, barrowdown men and moose and bears and mermen.

The dragon prince sang a song so sad it made the wolf maid sniffle, but when her pup brother teased her for crying she poured wine over his head.

A black brother spoke, asking the knights to join the Night's Watch.

The storm lord drank down the knight of skulls and kisses in a wine-cup war and the she-wolf seemed disgusted with him.

Amidst all this merriment, the little crannogman spied the three squires who'd attacked him.

One served a pitchfork knight, one a porcupine, while the last attended a knight with two towers on his surcoat.  
Lyanna saw them too, and pointed them out to her brothers.

"I could find you a horse, and some armor that might fit" Benjen offered.

The little crannogman thanked him, but gave no answer.

Lyanna understood why perfectly.

She knew that he felt useless against them and she promised herself she would make those squires pay for what they'd done.

Benjen turned to her.

He still smelled to wine even though he had gone to clean himself change his clothes.

"Is it just me or Oberyn Martell has spend half the feast looking at you?"

Lyanna turned to the place where The Red Viper was and, just as Benjen had said, he was staring at her.

She didn't hold his gaze for long.

Instead she went back to thinking about her plan.

"Benjen" she called.

"Yes?"

She turned to him.

"I'm going to need your help"


	6. Chapter 6

"Isn't Lya going to come with us?" Ned asked.

Benjen turned to him while the three of them sat on their places, ready to see the jousting.

"She didn't feel well" he answered.

"I will go to see her before dinner" Brandon said, trying calm Ned "I still have to speak with her, anyways"

Benjen looked at him curiously and Ned didn't say anything.

Late on the afternoon of that day a mystery knight appeared in the lists.

The mystery knight was short of stature, and clad in ill-fitting armor made up of bits and pieces. The device upon his shield was a heart tree of the old gods, a white weirwood with a laughing red face.

The mystery knight dipped his lance before the king and rode to the end of the lists, where the five champions had their pavilions.

He challenged the porcupine knight, the pitchfork knight, and the knight of the twin towers.

The porcupine knight fell first, then the pitchfork knight, and lastly the knight of the two towers. None were well loved, so the common folk cheered lustily for the Knight of the Laughing Tree, as the new champion soon was called. When his fallen foes sought to ransom horse and armor, the Knight of the Laughing Tree spoke in a booming voice through his helm.

"Teach your squires honor" he said "that shall be ransom enough."

* * *

Elia rose from her seat, tired.

Ashara seemed excited by the perspective of a mystery knight attending the lists.

"Do you think he'll win?" Ashara asked the princess.

"He?" Oberyn interrupted "What makes you think that knight was a man?"

Elia turned to her brother.

"You mean it could be a woman?"

"You didn't see the knight's face, did you?" Oberyn shrugged his shoulders.

Ashara laughed at his words.

"A woman jousting" she smirked "that would be interesting"

It was then when her eyes met Ned's.

"My princess, my lord, excuse me for a moment" she said and made a reverence.

She left them and made her way to the place where the Stark was.

He smiled at her, nervously.

She loved that.

* * *

That night at the great castle, Robert Baratheon and Ser Richard Lonmouth each swore they would unmask him, and the King Aerys himself urged men to challenge him, declaring that the face behind that helm was no friend of his.

The next morning, when the heralds blew their trumpets and the King took his seat, only two champions appeared.

The Knight of the Laughing Tree had vanished.

The King Aerys was wroth, and even sent his son Rhaegar to seek the man.

* * *

The prince did not understand his father's wrath but he did as he said and searched for the mystery knight.

He saw the knight on the forest, running away from those who were hunting him.

Rhaegar followed him, and cached him.

"Turn around" he said "remove the helmet"

The knight did as he said and, when the helmet fell to the floor, he almost drooped his sword, surprised.

"My lady" he whispered.

Lyanna looked at him, trying not to feel afraid.

"Your grace" she said.

She didn't feel wrong with herself, on the contrary, she was proud of what she'd done. She was proud she had taught those squires a lesson.

They could hear the screams of the other men. They were going to arrive there soon.

"Remove the armor" the prince told her "leave it. Run."

Lyanna did as he said and left the armor hanging on a tree.

"Thank you" she told Rhaegar and he smiled at her.

Lyanna run back to the castle without looking back.

* * *

She sat next to Ned and soon after that the tourney started again.

"Are you feeling better today?" her brother asked.

"Yes" she smiled.

Ned embraced her and kissed her cheek.

The Prince of Dragonstone had just defeated Lord Yohn Royce.

Brandon prepared himself to joust against the prince and Lyanna watched Rhaegar carefully.

She was scared.

She had been scared since she had met him in the woods. She was scared that he could say something about The Knight of The Laughing Tree's identity.

But the prince said nothing and did nothing.

Brandon spurred his horse and Lyanna hold her breath.

Rhaegar's lance hit Brandon on the chest and he fell to the floor.

Lyanna rose from her seat, worried, and she felt Benjen rising next to her.

Then Brandon stood up, laughing, and smiled at her.

His eyes told her not to worry.

When Brandon went to change himself, Lyanna and Benjen sat back.

The next one to march against the prince was Ser Arthur Dayne.

The Lord of Flowers bet 100 galleons for Ser Arthur Dayne and, to the surprise of many, it was the Lady Ashara Dayne, Ser Arthur's sister, who accepted the bet.

It was Ashara who won the bet, and Rhaegar Targaryen won once more.

Ser Barristan Selmy, with his white armor shining brightly, rode his horse to his position.

There were a lot of bets this time, most of them in favour of Ser Barristan.

The prince was going to lose, Lyanna thought, there was no way he could won.

But he did win and took the Cown of Winter Roses to crown his queen.

Ned would never forget the moment when all the smiles died.

When Prince Rhaegar Targaryen urged his horse past his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty's laurel in Lyanna's lap.

He would always remember it: a crown of winter roses, blue as frost.


	7. Chapter 7

"Elia" he called her again.

She did not stop. She did not answer.

She was angry with him.

A part of her wanted to kill him, the other part wanted to go back to King's Landing, take Rhaenys and run away to Dorne.

But she did not do it.

She was Elia Nymeros Martell, a princess of Dorne, and she will not give anyone the satisfaction of knowing they had made her run away like a coward.

She entered their chamber and Rhaegar followed her and closed the door.

"Do you have any idea of what you have just done to me?!" she screamed.

"It's not what you think, Elia" he whispered.

She had known a lot of men during her life.

Men who mistreated their women. Men who lied to their women. Men who cheated on their wives.

But she had never thought that Rhaegar was one of those men.

"You crowned her" she said "You knew that I wanted Oberyn to marry Lyanna and you crowned her!"

"Because she was The Knight of The Laughing Tree!" he interrupted her, desperately.

He had never thought about how his choice would affect Elia. He had wanted to tell her before the tourney but she had been busy with Ashara.

He had crowned Lyanna because he knew that she was the one who truly deserved to win the tourney.

"What?" Elia asked, lowering her voice tone.

"I found her in the woods" he explained, softly "She was the mystery knight. I gave the crown to her because she deserved to win"

Elia did not know what to say. She didn't expect that.

"And why the bloody hell didn't you tell me?" she said after a few minutes.

Rhaegar looked shocked. He had never heard her speak like that before.

"I didn't think about it" he said, truly "I'm sorry, Elia"

"Don't be" she whispered, tired.

"But the lords and the ladies" Rhaegar continued "they will think…"

"It doesn't matter what they think" Elia interrupted "What matters is that I know the truth"

* * *

Ned tried to stop Robert.

But nothing could stop his best friend's fury.

"What has she done?" he screamed.

"She is my sister, Robert" Ned reminded him "And you have no right to speak about her like that"

"She is my betrothed, and I'll speak about her the way I want"

Brandon entered the room like a storm.

He had obviously heard them.

His hands were curled into fists and he clenched his jaw.

"She is nothing to you, you bastard" he screamed "Do you still not understand it? Lyanna will never marry you. She will never be your wife"

Ned had to hold Robert's arm to stop him from hitting Brandon.

"You don't love her" Brandon continued "You think of my sister as a trophy, as an object, as something pretty to have and show to your friends so they think that you are better than them. But you will never stop being who you are, a bastard, a womanizer, and my sister doesn't deserve that. She deserves someone who doesn't lie to her, someone who protects her" he looked down to Robert as though he was an insect "Someone who is worth her"

This time Ned could not stop Robert.

His friend jump to Brandon and hit him in the face, but the oldest Stark was not going to let the Lord of Storm's end humiliate him.

By the time Ned manage to separate them, with Benjen's and Howland's help, Robert had a black eye and Brandon's lip was broken.

Ned pushed his friend out of the room.

"Enough!" Ned screamed and Robert, who was still burning in rage, almost jumped, surprised, because he had never seen his friend so angry "Go to your room, calm down. I'll see you later"

And he closed the door.

* * *

"How could he do that?!"

Oberyn entered the room and slamed the door with the fury of a blizzard.

Elia rose from her sit and turned to face him.

"He shamed you! You are his wife! That bastard! He should have crowned you! I don't care he is the future king, I'll cut him to peaces!"

"Oberyn…"

"And he crowned her!" he continued "He could have crowned any other lady! Why the hell did he crowned Lyanna?!"

Elia couldn't do anything but smile.

"Why are you so angry, brother? Because Rhaegar did not crown me, or because he crowned Lyanna?"

Oberyn held his breath.

Why was he angry?

"You do not wish to marry" Elia continued "but you don't wish any other man to have her"

"What do you want me to say, Elia? You want me to confess?"

She nodded even if she was not sure about what her brother had to confess.

"You are right, I want her. I want her smile, I want her eyes, I want her strength, I want her wilfulness, and I want her body. Yes, I confess, I want that girl"

She laughed.

"I thought you didn't want to marry"

"And I do not want to marry" he simply said "But I want her"

Elia told him to sit down and spend the next minutes explaining him why Rhaegar had crowned the Stark girl.

She had never seen her brother like this.

There was something about the way Oberyn spoke about Lyanna that made her smile.

She had never seen Oberyn speak so passionately about anyone.

* * *

Lyanna was in her room.

She had left the crown on the desk and hadn't looked at it twice.

She heard Brandon screaming to Robert and what Robert said about her, but she couldn't care less.

She knew why the prince had given her that crown and she didn't feel guilty about anything.

Brandon entered her room soon after that.

"I have to tell you something"

Lyanna was lying on the bed and Brandon sat on the floor next to her.

"So?" she smiled "What do you have to tell me?"

Brandon took a deep breath.

She was indeed going to rip him to pieces.

"I've been thinking about what you said. About getting powerful alliances" she frowned at his words "and you were right, but above all" he turned his head to face her and took her hand "I want you to be safe and happy"

"Brandon…"

"You are not going to marry Robert Baratheon" he said "I won't let that stupid have you. He doesn't deserve you. No one will ever truly deserve you, actually, but arrangements are to be made and I'm only thinking of the best for you"

She clenched her fists.

"If you are suggesting what I think you are suggesting…"

"You will marry Oberyn Martell" he said it quickly, trying to end the conversation as soon as possible "You'll be a princess of Dorne and he'll make sure you live happily and without any trouble"

Lyanna didn't say anything.

She moved on the bed, avoiding his gaze, and Brandon tried to make her look at him.

"Leave me alone" she said.

"Lya…"

"Leave me alone" she repeated.

He nodded and left.

* * *

That night, at the feast, Lyanna did not talk to Brandon.

She spent most of the time talking to Catelyn, Lysa and Howland, and danced a few times with Ned and Benjen, but avoided everyone else.

She was sitting on her chair drinking a glass of wine when he approached her.

"May I have this dance, my lady?"

She sighed.

"You may not"

Oberyn sat next to her and gave her a serious look.

"Do I need to beg you?"

Lyanna turned to face him.

He was wearing a yellow tunic embroidered with bright scarlet suns. When his viper eyes meet her grey ones, she shivered.

She opened her mouth to say something but closed it immediately.

_Sorry, but I don't like the idea of being forced to marry and that's why I don't want to be near you,_ she thought.

"I'm sorry, my lord, but I'm not in the mood to speak to you right now" she said.

"Your brother told you" he guessed.

Lyanna did not answer.

She was concentrated on Ned, who was dancing with Ashara. He seemed happy and it made her smile.

"I do really believe we should talk"

Robert's gaze met Lyanna's and she looked away, disgusted.

"Come" she told Oberyn after a moment of silence.

She sat up and walked out of the room. He followed.


	8. Chapter 8

Oberyn followed Lyanna out of the room and through the corridor.

She was tall for her age but he was still taller than her.

Her curves were not defined yet but Oberyn found out that he was wrong. Lyanna was young, yes, but her body, even if it was not the body of a grown woman, was not the body of a child.

If they had met a couple of years later he would have probably taken her to his bed. Or at least tried, for he knew she was untameable.

She guided him outside, to one of the balconies, and she leaned against the balustrade.

"Elia told me what you did" he told her "You were brave. Not many would have risked themselves to help a crannogman"

"Well, sometimes you've got to do what you think is right, and damn the consequences"

He laughed at that.

"Your brother was right" he told her "You are not like the other ladies"

She smiled.

"I know that you don't want to marry me" she simply said "and I don't blame you. If I could choose I'd like to spend the rest of my days in The North or become a Septa so I don't have to deal with men, but I believe that not even then I'd be free from you"

Lyanna bit her lip. She didn't mean to say it that way, it just came out.

"I'm sorry" she quickly added "I didn't want to say it like that"

But, by the way he laughed, she supposed he did not care.

"Don't worry, my lady" he smirked "But I'm surprised. I didn't know you believed in The Seven"

"I do not. I keep the faith of The North and only pray to The Old Gods" then she turned to face him "And what about you?"

"What about me?" he looked confused.

"Do you believe in the Seven or you keep the faith of the Rhoynar?"

Oberyn shook his head and chuckled.

"I do not really believe in the Gods, my lady" he explained "I don't think a man's fate is defined by some Gods desires"

"Lyanna" she whispered.

"Excuse me?"

She smiled.

"Call me Lyanna" she told him.

Oberyn smiled back at her.

"Lyanna" he said and she shivered at the way her name sounded on his lips "If I may ask" he continued "why was Robert so convinced he was going to marry you?"

She snorted.

"You have just ruined the moment" Lyanna spit and then left out a low breath "He has been obsessed with me since forever, and Ned is his best friend, so he thought that he would have my hand in marriage. But it was Brandon who my father appointed for the task of finding me a husband, and Brandon never liked Robert. So here we are" she concluded.

"I'm glad he did not choose Robert" Oberyn whispered.

"Liar" she said, maybe too quickly "You wouldn't have chosen me if your sister hadn't insisted, would have you?"

"No"

"Now you speak the truth" her voice sounded broken.

"You are intelligent, Lyanna" he told her, and she fixed her grey eyes on his dark ones "And, even if I'm sure that you will grow to be a wild beauty, you are already beautiful. Any man would be proud of marrying you"

"Thank you" she smiled.

"For saying that you are beautiful?" he did not understand.

"For saying that I'm intelligent"

She looked away from him and stared at the stars above them.

Oberyn watched her.

She was indeed a unique woman.

A she-wolf, he reminded himself, and found himself hoping that one day he could discover how a she-wolf she was.

* * *

"Is something disturbing you, my lord?" Catelyn asked, politely and Brandon smiled to her.

"No, my lady, don't worry"

He continued dancing with her but couldn't stop glancing towards the door.

Lyanna and Oberyn had been gone for quite a long time.

He spun Catelyn and she fell on Ned's arms almost at the same time that the Princess Elia fell on Brandon's.

"You are staring at the door, Lord Brandon" she noticed "It's creepy"

"Your brother and my sister are missing" he simply replied "I'm worried"

Elia smiled at him.

"Don't be. Lyanna is completely safe"

She wished she could believe her own words.

Elia knew her brother better than anyone, and she knew that even if he claimed that he didn't want Lyanna, a viper was always a viper.

Her fears disappeared when she saw them entering the room, laughing.

Oberyn escorted Lyanna back to her table and kissed her hand gently.

Elia saw Lyanna rolling her eyes, but she did also she how she smiled when Oberyn left.

"See?" the princess told Brandon "She is perfectly fine"

* * *

Lyanna let her dress fall on the floor and put on her nightgown.

Something had changed that night, she knew it, but she couldn't tell what it was.

"Sister?" Ned called from outside.

"Come in" she told him.

Ned's smile was bright and Lyanna smiled back.

"You are happy, brother"

"And so are you, sister"

Lyanna sat on the bad and Ned sat next to her.

"Is he treating you right?" her older brother asked, taking her hand.

Lyanna squeezed his hand affectionately.

"Yes, he's been kind to me"

"I'm glad" then his face turned serious and Lyanna worried "But if he proves ungallant, If he…If he does anything that makes you feel wrong, come and tell me, and I shall give you his head"

Her eyes were wide open on surprise.

Lyanna had never heard Ned say anything like that before. Normally, Brandon was the one who would say such things, but Ned's eyes, as grey as hers, told her that he was not joking.

She embraced him and kissed him on the cheek.

Then, she smirked.

"So? Tell me brother, what's going on between you and Ashara Dayne?"

Ned blushed slightly.

"Eddard Stark! You are blushing like a maiden!"

They both laughed and Ned remembered a time when they were younger, a time when Lyanna would come to his room at night, scared by the white winds howling outside the walls and looking for a safe place next to her brother.

"You like her, don't you?" his sister asked.

"Yes" Ned confessed "Yes, I like her very much"

"I'm happy for you"

Benjen came in soon after that, looking for Ned, and they left Lyanna alone.

She got into bed and it was not long before she fell asleep, still smiling.


End file.
